Are you having problems with your children doing chores? Try telling him that you will work with him on a chore that needs to be done now instead of later.
Are you having problems with your child not wanting to do his chores? Is he perhaps just putting them off expecting that he won't have to do them or that you might do them for him? If he does them he is performing them in a sloppy manner? This is something you can change with hopefully a few of the ideas that I have for you.
Are you letting your child decide what to do first? Say he wants to watch a favorite movie on the television and then wants to do the chores later, but it keeps getting later and chores just don't get done because he gets sleepy or it is too late to do them anyway?
Try telling him that you will work with him on a chore that needs to be done now instead of later: perhaps he needs a little nudge to urge him along, and by this he can learn the chores don't need to be put off till later. Sometimes children don't know how to start a chore on their own and do need a little help or a nudge and this can help. The next time he performs the same chore you might tell him that
he will need to do this alone.
Why not tell him there will be a chore free day? That way he can know that he only has to be responsible for the chore on the other six days of the week, just as when his father goes out to work, he gets days off, so give the child a day off or perhaps two days off. Now there will be certain chores that do need to be done daily such as feeding the dog and giving the dog fresh water daily, but you could even think of taking over that chore for one or two days or even assigning that chore to another child.
Now another thought is that you need to assign chores that fit the age of the child, such as from ages two to three, a chore might be to start learning to put toys away, pick up clothes on the floor and put in the hamper to be washed.
Children from the ages of four to five can learn to water the flowers, fix a bowl of cereal, etc.
The child from age six to seven, can set the table, rake leaves, even answer the phone for an hour in the afternoon. Ages eight to nine a child can put away clothes in his chest of drawers, run his own bathwater and do a lot of
things especially if you will show him how first.
Children from ages ten and older can help with many chores, even changing the covers on their beds and learning the responsiblities of having even a paper route.
Any time you assign chores to a child of any age remember you are increasing their self-esteem and preparing them for responsiblity later in life. Children who have everything done for them tend to be not responsible as adults. We have to teach responsiblity and chores are the necessary way
of teaching. Of course lots of other factors make
them responsible but the doing of chores as assigned whether or not for allowances teach.
Of course, if affordable, you will be giving your
children allowances, but we don't want our children to think they must be paid for all chores that are done.
